


gentle poison never stung

by OldEmeraldEye



Series: For the Honor of the Queen's First Cousin [4]
Category: Honor Harrington Series - David Weber
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Era: Reign of Roger III of Manticore, F/F, Rules Lawyering, Saganami Island Naval Academy, Time Loops Until You Kiss Your Soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25801336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldEmeraldEye/pseuds/OldEmeraldEye
Summary: It's a sacrifice, but one that she's willing to make for the good of her star kingdom as a whole.
Relationships: Honor Harrington/Michelle Henke
Series: For the Honor of the Queen's First Cousin [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602001
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	gentle poison never stung

"So ... are we going to ...?"

"...No."

"No?"

* * *

Gloria Michelle Samantha Evelyn Henke was quite familiar with the concept of sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom. Quite beside the fact that the Saganami tradition was hammered into the heads of everyone who so much as _glanced_ in the direction of the Navy training school on Saganami Island, she has had years as fourth in line to the throne – a position that was thankfully growing more distant with every nibbling Beth was threatening to pop out for her to spoil (she had never been more convinced that spontaneous reproduction in humans was possible than whenever she caught Elizabeth and Justin making eyes at each other like they'd just discovered the concept of soulmates) - to impart a firm sense of duty.

Which is why, when her day repeats – a fact that she only catches onto _after_ the Hyperspace Tactics lecture, but they did in fact have that class two days in a row, so she thinks its an acceptable oversight. Besides, different actions (like avoiding the over-consumption of celery in a certain Sphinxian native) get different results (being aerially mobbed for said celery, and almost running late), changing enough that she had only noticed commonality when the same surprise quiz was sprung - she postpones applying for a soulmate waiver until the following day's iteration. Mike has already lost half the day's search time, and she can serve the kingdom better by knowing the material her lecturers are trying to beat into their cadets brains inside and out than running around campus like a certain treecat in a celery shortage.

She might even find a better approach to tutoring Honor in the hours ahead. Probably not, but hope springs eternal. And if she doesn't get it this time, Mike always has today again. Until she finds her soulmate, of course. But until then, she has all the time in the world.

* * *

Honor wakes to the press of Nimitz's concerned face against hers, and knows that somewhere in the last – in the next – eighteen hours till she fell asleep in the yesterday that was today once more, she had met her soulmate. She stays prone a few precious minutes more, just taking the fact in.

Somehow, she had never accounted for a soulmate in her planning. Schooling, Saganami Island, then the Navy and defending the Kingdom from the ever encroaching Havenite threat. That had been the plan, in it's most basic form. She'd never seen the need for anything more, not when Nimitz was already a love truer than any she could imagine.

She doesn't apply for a soulmate slip. The Island is large, and she is still new enough that picking out a new face would be low chance at best. She'll attend the same lectures as she did yesterday and watch for someone who's

It's not until she wakes in her room, once more a full day - or two - in her past, that she finds her evidence. Namely, her roommate, who should be out early, still sitting on her bed and wrestling with her comp. Rolls up onto her elbow, Nimitz flowing with her movement until he's tucked under her chin. She recognizes the form on the screen. It's a very distinctive shade and letterhead, compared to Academy standard.

"You're looping too?"

And _oh_ , she has not been seen so deeply, not since Nimitz had twined his way into her life.

The immobilizing high lasts only an instant - only an eternity - but it's enough to knock any thoughts of leaving the room from her mind.

It's one thing to meet your soulmate. It's quite another when they refuse to kiss you, or help with the written portion of the soulmate waiver. There's a certain level of mortification in informing your superiors that you need the day off to work on finding someone to kiss you that is only magnified by _not being kissed_ as a result. Not that Mike owes her a kiss. She doesn't owe Honor anything. Even if it is the only way for the two of them to rejoin the normal flow of time.

* * *

"So ..."

Mike is reminded once more that Honor is young. Possibly the youngest ever to be admitted to the halls of the Academy. And she is so very easily flustered. "Are we going to ...?" Honor trails off once more, a blush dusting her cheekbones as she glances at Mike's lips and away again.

But, much as she would love to accept that offer ... "...No." There are some opportunities that should not be squandered lightly, no matter the personal costs involved.

"No?"

"Not until you understand the principles of four-d math. _And_ can apply them consistently."

Mike is too well brought up to laugh at the way her roommate – her soulmate - groans and hides her face against the desk. Her treecat more than makes up expressing his amusement from where he's laid claim to the bunks. It is, she thinks, the start of a beautiful friendship.


End file.
